Posted onSaturday, February 24, 2024|Comments Off on Textiles, Pottery, Paper, Masks and More on Lake Pátzcuaro, Michoacan
In addition to the monarch butterflies, what draws us to Michoacan is its extraordinary artisan traditions. Rich in cultural diversity, the Purepecha villages cling to their language and pre-Hispanic customs.
Many of the craft and artisan wares were developed and promoted by Bishop Vasco de Quiroga who introduced traditional artisanry, many based on Spanish prototypes, to the villages surrounding the lake. He trained locals to become master craftsmen and is honored and revered throughout the region.
We may offer this tour in 2026. Please send an email to get on our interested list.
This year, on Wednesday February 7, our group of fourteen travelers went to Santa Clara del Cobre where masters create hammered and forged copper pots, pans, mirrors, jewelry, utensils, and more. The following day, on February 8, we visited award-winning mask carvers in Tucuaro, Nicolas Fabian Fermin, the grand master of Mexican pottery who lives in Santa Fe de Laguna, and the embroidery cooperative in Tzintzuntzan started by Teofila Servin Barriga.
This full-day around the lake would not be complete without at market stop, a visit to Luis Manuel Morales Gámez, master pottery, and a home-cooked lunch with Mama Rosario, the wife of Nicolas Fabian Fermin.
These little fish, below left, are called charoles. They come from the fresh waters near Tzintzuntzan and are a Patzcuaro specialty. Lower right, blue corn memelas cooking on the comal.
Posted onWednesday, February 7, 2024|Comments Off on Why Visiting Monarch Butterflies is a Bucket List Experience
For two days, our group of fourteen travelers and three guides rode horses, hiked, climbed, and pushed ahead to see the Monarch butterflies in Michoacan and Estado de Mexico, Mexico. We reached over 11,000 feet in altitude to get to where the butterflies roost and overwinter in the central highlands here.
Our first day was spent at El Rosario, the largest of the two sites that we visited, and the most touristic of all the sanctuaries. It was a Mexican national holiday, a three-day weekend, and we encountered hundreds, if not thousands of visitors climbing to the top of the site. They came with entire families, babies to grandparents. They walked, hiked, had bamboo sticks to help them, backpacks filled with water and snacks, cameras in pockets and around necks. note: Monarch butterfly populations down significantly this year. Climate change impacting their survival.
On our second day we went to Sierra Chincua, smaller than El Rosario. It is more off-the-beaten path and less populated by people, at least if you get there earlier in the morning as we did. We all recommend this site as being more accessible and equally as magnificent.
I asked our travelers to send me their impressions and experience in the butterfly sanctuaries, and what being there meant to them. Here is what they said …
Atop the mountain in light and shadow, flashes of gold and hanging clusters of stillness reveal to me the beauty, frailty, and endurance in the natural world and all mankind. -Flora Graham
Forest baths. Monarch biospheres exemplified that feeling. Observing local residents with their young children climbing the steep incline. I was impressed by it all. People and nature. – Pat Meheriuk
We may offer this trip in 2026. Please contact us if you are interested.
I came to Michoacan to see the butterflies and witness a natural phenomenon. I’d seen photos, listened to Sara Dykman talk about her 10,000 mile bike ride following the Monarchs from New York to Mexico and back, seen the National Geographic article, fed them countless milkweed meals, and watched them emerge from their chrysallis. I don’t know what I expected, but I know it never entered my mind that it would make me cry. -Joyce Howell
Things call to us instinctually, and sometimes, when we are listening, we hear the call. The trip to see the Monarch butterflies in Mexico called to me in such a way. It beckoned. Could I go? How could I go? I must go. And, in the early days of February 2024, I found myself trekking, a pilgrimage, to see the miracle of the migrating Monarchs — first in the Rosario Sanctuary, and the next day in the Sierra Chincua. Both treks were different but equally deeply meaningful. In the El Rosario Sanctuary, the reverence of hundreds of people, panting, sweating, to become suddenly quiet, in awe, at the pinnacle, was a connection that bound us deeply and instinctually. In Sierra Chincua, more space and fewer people allowed for a deep connection: to the sun, the wind, the dust, the Oyamel Firs. The Monarchs, their mysteries, their beauty, connects us all, globally and as inter-species, and is the thread that weaves us together in the world. It is magic. It is everything. – Kerry Drake
I was drawn to this particular trip because of the opportunity to visit the winter resting place for the Monarchs. What I experienced was so much more than I ever dreamed … a beautiful forest with birds, wildflowers, streams, and flocks of families and people who will be touched forever by this experience. As I hiked higher and the Monarchs became more numerous, I was overwhelmed with emotion. The natural phenomenon of what it took for these creatures to arrive in the majestic place was striking, as well as imaging each Monarch as a spirit of those who have passed before. Having lost my father this past year, it gave me a chance to reconnect with his spirit. Muchas gracias. – Karen Hembree
For me, the solitary time walking the path, both up the mountain and downhill again, was the heart of the butterfly experience. See the very first Monarch was its own miracle, the answer to a quest. To see millions was spectacular, impossible to capture in a photo. The silent reverence of the crowd of witnesses was beautiful. It feels like a favor I have done for myself, a treasure I can tuck into my memory and a reverie to revisit. -Liz Knisely
Going to the Butterfly Sanctuary felt like a spiritual pilgrimage. To get to the butterfly clusters was no easy task, but it was well worth it. In a way, having a not so easy journey to see the butterflies elevated the experience. It was a hike up 10,000 feet in a beautiful, forest, mountain trail with fellow butterfly seekers. Along the way, the altitude and climb would cause me to stop several times to catch my breath. But when I did, I could take in the beauty that surrounded me. The trails themselves, although difficult were covered in an array of flowers and plants. And fellow hikers, were all very kind and courteous to each other, even if you were struggling. That only was a beautiful experience. As we got closer to the sanctuary, there were occasional butterflies that increased the excitement that was ahead. In a way, it felt like some butterflies were saying “keep going, you got this!”. When I reached the top, the meadow of butterflies felt like I went to a temple. Everyone was quiet and taking in the magic of where we were and the butterflies flying everywhere. Then as I continued to the final cluster, I felt like my breath was taken away. My eyes watered, my heart felt it could have burst with the overwhelming feeling of how amazing this life is. I never would have dreamt that I would have ever gone to the butterfly sanctuary to witness the miracle of the monarch butterfly migration. I was flooded with gratitude and love. As Estella said, they believe that the butterflies are ancestors. It felt like our ancestors were glad we made the journey and blessed us with their presence. This was a once in a lifetime experience. – Lava Khonsuwon
After the hike, we gathered at the local comedors, the small kitchens operated by locals from Angangueo and El Rosario. This is how families make an income during the butterfly season — by cooking lunch in humble puestos and running horses.
Our favorite comedor is operated by Doña Lupita at Sierra Chincua. The two-year olds hover around their mothers while the mothers cook. We had the best blackberry atole, chile relleno, and enchiladas!
Migrating butterflies need milkweed to lay eggs and sustain the succeeding generations. An educational program for school children led by Susan Meyers, links Canada, the USA and Mexico. All three countries experience Monarch butterfly migration and the education program creates greater understanding for preservation.
Posted onTuesday, February 6, 2024|Comments Off on Cooking Class in Pátzcuaro with Chef Diego Carabez Andrade
Eight of us signed up for this class during our Michoacán Butterflies and Folk Art Tour. We are here now. Enjoy the photos.
We are considering offering this tour in 2026. Please contact us to get on the interested list.
The menu includes tacos de charoles (the little fish from Lake Patzcuaro), guacamole, ceviche, grilled kampachi, pineapple salsa, trout carpaccio, cooked roots of the choyote, grilled zucchini, passion fruit water with orange juice and a bit of sugar.
Posted onSunday, February 4, 2024|Comments Off on First Mexico City on Our Way to the Monarch Butterflies
We spent our first full day in Mexico City with an art history immersion, exploring the murals of the three greats of Mexican Muralism — José Clemente Orozco, Diego Rivera, and David Alfaro Siqueiros.
First, we meandered through the Abelardo Rodriguez Market to find the murals painted by Rivera’s acolytes, including the Greenwood sisters and Pablo O’Higgins.
We may offer this trip in 2026. Contact us to let us know if you are interested.
Then, we got to Palacio Bellas Artes where the second floor is filled with larger-than-life paintings telling the story of post-revolutionary Mexico, including Rivera’s famous Man Controller of the Universe that he recreated to replace the mural that Rockefeller destroyed in New York City, and Siqueiros’ Torment of Cuauhtemoc.
We strolled through the Alameda Park to the Diego Rivera Museum to see the mural saved from the 1985 earthquake titled Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in the Alameda Park.
After lunch at Azul Histórico in the Downtown complex at Isabel La Católica #30, we went upstairs to meet with Sagrario at Remigio’s. We know him from Oaxaca as the finest curator of indigenous textiles in Mexico.
Our Oaxaca Cultural Navigator partner Eric Chavez Santiago, an expert in Mexican textiles, explained the fibers and iconography of the special pieces that Sagrario selected to show us.
Today, we are in Ziticuaro and tomorrow we make our way to Angangueo to the monarch butterfly reserve. It’s warming up, so we are hoping it will be a spectacular sighting.
Get on the list to know more about Mexican Muralism and the work of Frida Kahlo. Send an email to tell us you want to be notified when we publish Looking for Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera in Mexico City, Winter 2025.
Arrive on Saturday, January 11 and depart on Sunday, January 19, 2025 — 8 nights, 9 days in textile heaven!
This tour will not be offered in 2026!
We go deep, and not wide. We give you an intimate, connecting experience. We spend time to know the culture. You will meet artisans in their homes and workshops, enjoy local cuisine, dip your hands in an indigo dye-bath, and travel to remote villages you may never get to on your own. This study tour focuses on revival of ancient textile techniques and Oaxaca’s vast weaving culture that encompasses the use of natural dyes, back-strap loom weaving, drop spindle hand spinning, and glorious, pre-Hispanic native cotton in warm brown called coyuchi, verde (green) and creamy white. We cover vast distances going north on MEX 200 along the Costa Chica, traveling to secluded mountain villages. This tour is for the most adventurous, hardy textile travelers!
At Oaxaca Cultural Navigator, we aim to give you an unparalleled and in-depth travel experience to participate and delve deeply into indigenous culture, folk art and celebrations. To register, please complete the Registration Form and email it to us. When you tell us you are ready to register, we will send you a request to make your reservation deposit.
Cost is $3,895 per person shared room or $4,795 per person for private room. See details and itinerary below.
My husband and I just finished this years tour it was fantastic. This trip is an incredible once in a life time opportunity to go where the tourists never go and learn about native cotton being grown, spun and woven. A real highlight of the trip is dinner on the beach with the turtle release and a swim in the bioluminescence lagoon. This trip is a true weavers delight.
This entire study tour is focused on exploring the textiles of Oaxaca’s Costa Chica. You arrive to and leave from Puerto Escondido (PXM), connecting through Mexico City or Oaxaca. You might like to read about on the Oaxaca coast, it’s about the cloth, not the cut.
Villages along the coast and neighboring mountains were able to preserve their traditional weaving culture because of their isolation. The Spanish could not get into those villages until the late 18th century. Much now is the same as it was then. Stunning cotton is spun and woven into lengths of cloth connected with intricate needlework to form amazing garments. Beauty and poverty are twin sisters here.
What we do:
We visit 7 weaving villages in Oaxaca and Guerrero
We meet back-strap loom weavers, natural dyers, spinners
We see, touch, smell native Oaxaca cotton — brown, green, natural
We participate in a sea turtle release with sunset dinner on the beach
We swim in a rare bioluminescence lagoon
We visit three local markets to experience daily life
We travel to remote regions to discover amazing cloth
We learn about Afro-Mestizo identity on the Pacific Coast
We support indigenous artisans directly
We escape from El Norte WINTER
Take this study tour to learn about:
the culture, history, and identity of cloth
beating and spinning cotton, and weaving with natural dyes
native seed preservation and cultivation
clothing design and construction, fashion adaptations
symbols and meaning of regional textile designs
choice of colors and fibers that show each woman’s aesthetic while keeping with a particular village traje or costume
the work of women in pre-Hispanic Mexico and today
PRELIMINARY ITINERARY
Saturday, January 11: Fly to Puerto Escondido—overnight in Puerto Escondido, Group Welcome Dinner at 6:00 p.m. Meals included: Dinner
Sunday, January 12: Puerto Escondido market meander (optional). Lunch and afternoon on your own. Late afternoon departure for turtle release and Manialtepec bioluminescence lagoon with beach dinner. Overnight in Puerto Escondido. Meals included: Breakfast and dinner
Monday, January 13: Depart after breakfast for Tututepec to visit a young Mixtec weaver who is reviving his village’s textile traditions, visit local museum and murals. We will enjoy a home-cooked meal with a regional mole dish prepared by the family. Travel by van several hours north to Ometepec, Guerrero. Overnight in Ometepec. Meals included: Breakfast and lunch.
Tuesday, January 14: After breakfast, we go to Zacoalpan, a bygone Amusgo village where Jesus Ignacio and his family weave native coyuchi, green and natural white cotton to make traditional huipiles. They are rescuing designs from fragments of ancient cloth. Then, we have lunch in nearby Xochistlahuaca with an outstanding weaving cooperative that creates glorious, diaphanous textiles embellished with a palette of colorful designs reflecting the flora of the region. Overnight in Ometepec.
Wednesday, January 15: After breakfast, we visit downtown Ometepec and the regional market, then make a stop at the Afro-Mexican Museum to learn about the rich cultural history and traditions of the region populated by Mexicans whose roots are from Africa and the slave trade. We continue to Pinotepa Nacional for a late lunch and to check into our hotel. Enjoy an expoventa and demonstration with embroiderers. Overnight in Pinotepa Nacional. Meals included: Breakfast and lunch.
Thursday, January 16: After breakfast, we explore the Pinotepa Nacional market, the largest in the region, where you may find hand-woven agave fiber tote bags, masks, textiles, and embroidered collars, as well as household goods and food. Then, we travel about an hour to the weaving village of San Juan Colorado for a home cooked lunch and visit two women’s cooperatives working in natural dyes, hand-spinning, and back strap loom weaving. Overnight in Pinotepa Nacional. Meals included: Breakfast and lunch.
Friday, January 17: After breakfast, we travel back up the mountain to the village of Pinotepa de Don Luis to meet noted weavers who work with naturally dyed cotton. Here, we will see jicara gourd carvers, too, who make jewelry and serving containers. We have lunch with Tixinda Cooperative members who are licensed to harvest the purple snail dye. In this village, the almost extinct caracol purpura snail is the traditional color accent for many textiles. Overnight in Pinotepa Nacional. Meals included: Breakfast and lunch.
Saturday, January 18: After breakfast, we begin our return to Puerto Escondido, a two-and-a-half-hour van ride. The rest of the day is on your own to explore, relax and pack. Lunch is on your own. We meet at 6 p.m. for our Grand Finale Dinner. Overnight in Puerto Escondido. Meals included: Breakfast and dinner.
Sunday, January 19: Depart for home. Meals included: None.
Note: You can add days on to the tour — arrive early or stay later to enjoy the beach and two swimming pools — at your own expense. We also suggest you arrive a day early (your own hotel expense) to avoid any unforeseen winter flight delays.
Cost to Participate
$3,895 shared double room with private bath (sleeps 2)
$4,795 for a single supplement (private room and bath, sleeps 1)
Your Oaxaca Cultural Navigator: Eric Chavez Santiago
Eric Chavez Santiago is the Oaxaca Cultural Navigator partner with Norma Schafer. He joined us in 2022. Eric is an expert in Oaxaca and Mexican textiles and folk art with a special interest in artisan development and promotion. He is a weaver and natural dyer by training and a fourth-generation member of a distinguished weaving family, the Fe y Lola textile group. He and his wife Elsa Sanchez Diaz started Taller Teñido a Mano dye studio where they produce naturally dyed yarn skeins and textiles for worldwide distribution. He is trilingual, speaking Zapotec, Spanish and English and is a native of Teotitlan del Valle. He is a graduate of Anahuac University, founder of the Museo Textil de Oaxaca education department, and former managing director of the Harp Helu Foundation folk-art gallery Andares del Arte Popular. He has intimate knowledge of local traditions, culture, and community and personally knows all the artisans we visit on this tour.
Oaxaca Cultural Navigator Founder Norma Schafer may participate in all or part of this tour.
We have invited a noted cultural anthropologist to travel with us. She did her thesis in a nearby textile village and has worked in the region for the past 15 years. She knows the textile culture and people intimately, too. Together, we learn about and discuss motifs, lifestyle, endangered species, quality, and value of direct support.
We sell out each year so don’t hesitate to make your registration deposit ASAP if you are interested in participating.
Reservations and Cancellations. A $750 non-refundable deposit is required to guarantee your place. The balance is due in two equal payments. The second payment of 50% of the balance is due on or before July 1, 2024. The third payment, 50% balance, is due on or before November 1, 2024. We accept payment using a Zelle transfer (no service fee), or with a credit card (4% service fee). For the credit card payment, we will send you a Square invoice. Tell us when you are ready to register.
After November 1, 2024, there are no refunds. If you cancel on or before November 1, 2024, we will refund 50% of your deposit received to date (less the $750 non-refundable deposit). After that, there are no refunds UNLESS we cancel for any reason. If we cancel, you will receive a full 100% refund.*
Required–Travel Health/Accident Insurance: We require that you carry international accident/health insurance that includes $50,000+ of emergency medical evacuation insurance. Check out Forbes Magazine for best travel insurance options. https://www.forbes.com/advisor/travel-insurance/best-travel-insurance/
Proof of insurance must be sent at least 45 days before departure.
About COVID. Covid is still with us and new variants continue to arise. We request proof of latest COVID-19 vaccination and all boosters to be sent 45 days before departure. We ask that you bring two test kits with you and several N-95 or KN-95 face masks. Face masks are strongly suggested for van travel, densely populated market visits, and artisan visits that are held indoors. We ask this to keep all travelers safe, and to protect indigenous populations who are at higher risk. If you get sick, we will ask you to withdraw from the tour.
Be certain your passport has at least six months on it before it expires from the date you enter Mexico! It’s a Mexico requirement.
We know the culture! We are locally owned and operated.
Eric Chavez Santiago is Zapotec, born and raised in Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca.
Norma Schafer has been living in Oaxaca for almost 20 years.
We have deep connections with artists and artisans.
63% of our travelers repeat -- high ratings, high satisfaction.
Wide ranging expertise: textiles, folk art, pottery, cultural wisdom.
We give you a deep immersion to best know Oaxaca and Mexico.
Creating Connectionand Meaning between travelers and with indigenous artisans. Meet makers where they live and work. Join small groups of like-minded explorers. Go deep into remote villages. Gain insights. Support cultural heritage and sustainable traditions ie. hand weaving and natural dyeing. Create value and memories. Enjoy hands-on experiences. Make a difference.
What is a Study Tour: Our programs are learning experiences, and as such we talk with makers about how and why they create, what is meaningful to them, the ancient history of patterning and design, use of color, tradition and innovation, values and cultural continuity, and the social context within which they work. First and foremost, we are educators. Norma worked in top US universities for over 35 years and Eric founded the education department at Oaxaca’s textile museum. We create connection.
OCN Creates Student Scholarship at Oaxaca Learning Center Giving back is a core value. Read about it here!
Why We Left, Expat Anthology: Norma’s Personal Essay
Norma contributes personal essay, How Oaxaca Became Home
We Contribute Two Chapters!
Click image to order yours!
Meet Makers. Make a Difference
Oaxaca Cultural Navigator LLC has offered programs in Mexico since 2006. We have over 30 years of university, textile and artisan development experience. See About Us.
Programs can be scheduled to meet your independent travel plans. Send us your available dates.
Designers, retailers, wholesalers, curators, universities and others come to us to develop artisan relationships, customized itineraries, study abroad programs, meetings and conferences. It's our pleasure to make arrangements.
Select Clients *Abeja Boutique, Houston *Selvedge Magazine-London, UK *Esprit Travel and Tours *Penland School of Crafts *North Carolina State University *WARP Weave a Real Peace *Methodist University *MINNA-Goods *Smockingbird Kids *University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Oaxaca has the largest and most diverse textile culture in Mexico! Learn about it.
When you visit Oaxaca immerse yourself in our textile culture: How is indigenous clothing made, what is the best value, most economical, finest available. Suitable for adults only. Set your own dates.
One-Day Custom Tours: Tell Us When You Want to Go!
Ruta del Mezcal One-Day Tour.We start the day with pottery, visiting a master, then have lunch with a Traditional Oaxaca Cook who is the master of mole making. In Mitla, we meet with our favorite flying shuttle loom weaver, and then finish off with a mezcal tasting at a palenque you will NEVER find on your own! Schedule at your convenience!
October 27, 28, 29: People and Place Photography Workshop in Teotitlán Del Valle with Luvia Lazo, featured in The New Yorker Magazine. Portraits and Street Photography, recipient of Leica Women Foto Project Award Winner 2024. This is an insider's Street and Portrait photography experience. We visit families in their homes to arrange photo sessions, we take you on the back streets where tourists rarely go.
October 30: Day of the Dead in Teotitlan del Valle--Altars and Studio Visits. A one-day immersion into culture, traditions, and meaning in Teotitlan del Valle. In this traditional village, where the native language is still spoken, we take you to meet local artisans who also explain their personal family traditions including who and what is on the altar and why. P.S. We know Teotitlan. We live here!
November 1: Day of the Dead Magic in Mitla--Visit the cemetery with our local host, understand the meaning of the pre-Hispanic altar, help honor the ancestors with offerings, enjoy a traditional meal of mole negro, a feast day speciality in Mitla. A one-day immersion experience.
December 6-14: Oaxaca Textile Tour and Workshopsincluding dye and weaving workshops, Tlacolula market and spinning village visits, plus lots more. Registration open!
January 11-19, Oaxaca Coast Textile Study Tour. Visit five remote weaving villages on the Costa Chica--Pacific Coast. See backstrap loom weaving, natural dyeing with rare purple snail dye, diverse language, culture, food. Discover Afro-Mestizo roots. This is one of our more Amazing study tours! We will not offer this tour in 2026! Don't miss it.
February 6-15:Guatemala Textile Study Tour: Cloth and Culture. Discover Antigua, Lake Atitlan and Panajachel, Chichicastenango Market, and visit Coban where they weave fine gauze cloth called pikbil. SOLD OUT
March 12-17: Deep Into the Mixteca Alta: Oaxaca Textile + Folk Art Study Tour 2025. This is cultural immersion at its best! Following the Dominican Route, we visit potteries, churches, Triqui weavers working in natural dyes, a cooperative in Tijaltepec that makes smocked blouses, the expansive Tlaxiaco Saturday Tianguis. Experience another side of Oaxaca.
We require 48-hour advance notice for map orders to be processed. We send a printable map via email PDF after your order is received. Please be sure to send your email address. Where to see natural dyed rugs in Teotitlan del Valle and layout of the Sunday Tlacolula Market, with favorite eating, shopping, ATMs. Click Here to Buy Map After you click, be sure to check PayPal to ensure your email address isn't hidden from us. We fulfill each map order personally. It is not automatic.
Dye Master Dolores Santiago Arrellanas with son Omar Chavez Santiago, weaver and dyer, Fey y Lola Rugs, Teotitlan del Valle
